Curry Goat and Oxtail

Curry came to Jamaica with indentured labourers from India in the nineteenth century and was absorbed completely: Jamaican curry powder is heavier on turmeric and allspice than its South Asian ancestors, and curry goat, bone-in and slow-cooked until the meat gives, is the dish made for weddings, funerals, christenings and any weekend that warrants it. Oxtail is the other. Browned, then stewed for hours with butter beans, thyme, pimento and scotch bonnet until the collagen turns the sauce glossy and the meat slides off the bone, it is the most expensive thing on most cook shop menus and the first to sell out. Both come with rice and peas.

What you actually see

• Curry goat - bone-in, slow-cooked, made for occasions.
• Oxtail with butter beans - stewed until the sauce goes glossy.
• Rice and peas - cooked with coconut milk and kidney beans, the standard side.
• The Sunday dinner - where both belong.

When to go

Year-round. Sunday is the day for both at home, and cook shops make them daily but sell out of oxtail early. Order oxtail at lunch rather than dinner if you want to be sure of getting it.

Honest expectations

Both are bone-in and eaten with the fingers as much as with cutlery; goat in particular has a lot of bone and some gristle, which is part of it. Oxtail is the priciest item on most menus for good reason. Neither is quick food, and cook shop versions vary from excellent to greasy. Vegetarians have no equivalent here.

Nearby

Every cook shop; Kingston and the parish market towns do it best.